No Man's Land
by JustDrop
Summary: Vampire Gaara, human Naruto. Need I say more? Sorta a crack-fic. Definitely not amazing, and NOT YAOI


**Standard disclaimer: Is Sakura an idiot? Is Sasuke a loser? Are there thousands of foaming-at-the-mouth fan girls? If you answered 'yes' to any of these question, I do not own Naruto. If you said no to all of them, see a doctor.**

**A/N: Yeah, I've been bored and dying to do a vampire fic. Here's the rewrite.**

There was only darkness for a long, long time, a consuming, never ending, blackness that stretched on forever and ever. For Gaara, that was the norm, this…black. He was Vampire. Black in any and every form would follow him. The black of death, the black of night, and the black of the clothes he wore to blend even better among the shadows as he stalked his prey, careful not to worry it early. It was best if it panicked at the last moment, increasing heart rate and blood flow. Adrenaline spiked food was better, anyhow. So maybe Gaara's life (Or rather, lack of) was what led him to be surprised when he waited on the roof and saw someone who was like a miniature sun, restrained energy that seemed to express itself in his twitchy body and very loud mouth. Even his hair was yellow, reminding Gaara of the sun, the sun he had to avoid remaining under for more than an hour, tops, and even than sustaining painful burns that took a while to heal.

The boy was talking loudly and laughing with Gaara's chosen prey. It was most unfortunate, but he couldn't wait any longer. Gaara hadn't fed in maybe three or four weeks and the Hunger was starting to gnaw, _and_ he had already chosen the specimen beside the noisy sunny boy before the girl had even walked inside the apartment building. Gaara slid noiselessly from the rooftop, walking quietly in the back alleys, keeping a close eye on his prey, a slightly chubby girl with the strangest midnight hair. Neither of them had to die, but he was getting dissatisfied that they were carefully, it seemed, avoiding anywhere that didn't have people. Gaara walked out of the alley, more than a little encouraged to have them worried, to take different measures. He walked close enough to them to make them aware of him; following them long enough to have them know he was following. The girl was saying something, her gaze flitting back to look at Gaara then blushing ferociously and looking ahead. The loud boy looked back as well, than exclaimed, rather loudly, to his female companion, "Why would ya think that?!"

Very nice, Blondie, very subtle, Gaara thought. He was quite sure everyone in a mile circumference could have heard the man. Gaara watched them unwaveringly as they turned down a street and slipped into a building. Gaara walked inside and was greeted abruptly with loud music, flashing blue lights, and people everywhere. The Hunger turned, demanding he fed, not caring who. Gaara shoved it down. He needed to remain coherent long enough to pay a whore or seduce someone. He didn't care which. Gaara had stopped caring who he fucked and fed off of long ago. Now, all they were to him was sex toys and food and there was no end to these. He slipped through the crowd, suddenly intent on finding his prey. And then it all was shot to hell. The door was opened suddenly, and it took a lot to stop him from hissing in annoyance. It was a group of hunters. With vampires being hunted so actively, it was getting more difficult to go about unnoticed. There was a rumor that there were only twelve left. Gaara ignored it vehemently; though he could clearly remember the last time he had seen another vampire was ninety years ago. Everyone stopped. Even the music was turned off.

Gaara was hissing now as he pushed to the back door. The hunters were telling everyone to stand back, let them do their business. A sluggish panic was building in his chest. He had lived too damn long to be staked here in this dirty club. He felt his face settle into one of fear, and didn't stop it. It would help him fit in, perhaps. Or, maybe, it would give him away. Either way Gaara didn't think it mattered. He was already baring his fangs and shoving people out of the way. The back exit was blocked-but not by someone he expected. It was the blonde and the quiet girl. The blonde man looked at Gaara, and Gaara knew the guy knew he was a vampire. He stopped hissing. Getting him out if the way would be easy, but he would make a racket in the newly quiet room that would give Gaara off in the quiet shuffling group that was being searched. Gaara swallowed nervously, looking for different exits. Nothing, there was nothing. He was trapped. The slow moving panic rose up, a lump in his throat.

This was it. It was over.

Gaara looked at the blonde boy again. Said boy was watching him solemnly, his blue eyes expressing a pity that Gaara would in other cases have found disgusting, and grabbed the girl's wrist, moving aside. He could not express the relief he felt even if he wanted to. Gaara just ran out the back door and into the darkness without looking back. This group was younger, less experienced then the last. They had secured a perimeter too far away and hadn't been prepared enough. Gaara dragged one of them off as food. The others didn't notice. It was laughable, that they seemed to think that they could send a group of rookies. If the rumors were true, did they honestly believe that the last vamps would be a group of newly bitten wide eyed children waiting to be staked? Gaara man-handled the food a little more roughly than he intended, but he wasn't going to die. And oh damn, he was full and tired and the sun was starting to slip over the horizon, taunting him with its dancing rays.

If the rumors were true…Gaara didn't know what to think if the rumors were true. Was he included in that list? Or were there a lot of vamps, but only twelve known ones? He shook his head tiredly. Sleep was weighing his body, enticing him to lie down. He staggered down the street. Gaara was ready to drop, but he needed to get home. Where was home? "Do you need help?" The voice, obnoxiously loud and cheerful, was behind him. Gaara turned sluggishly to look at the person addressing him, looked dubiously at the hand on his shoulder, and then up to look at the speaker himself. It was the blonde, from the club, who had let him out. Gaara was wasting time. He shrugged away the hand angrily. "No. I'm…I'm fine." He growled. Chivalry demanded that Gaara ask him if there was something he could do to repay him. His limbs felt like lead. The boy looked uncertain with blue eyes like the sky, like the sky above him growing bluer… "You, er, look like your about to drop." He said, interrupting Gaara's blank wanderings. I am, dummy. Gaara thought irritably.

Gaara stiffened. "You're wasting my time." he said, trying to push past him. "You're in front of my apartment. It's closer. I can help." He said eagerly, a wide smile stretching across his face. It was friendly enough to make Gaara want to puke his meal. Gaara gave him a half-hearted glare, but he knew it was an offer that might cost him his life to refuse. "Fine." Gaara muttered, following the boy groggily up the stairs. He was tired, the Hunger was sated, the apartment was quiet, and the sun was rising. The boy was saying something, no doubt something polite or conversational or at the very least brief instructions, but Gaara didn't hear and didn't care, just flopping onto the couch. He was exhausted, and anything further he might have wanted to say were wasted as he shut down, sliding away into the sweet embrace of a dreamless sleep.

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He was interesting, to say the least. After heading out with Hinata, Naruto didn't expect to see him again soon. He was also rude, angry, and seemed younger than he would have thought, but Hinata would be crestfallen if he didn't tell her. Since she was part of the species protection program, it was her job to protect vampires. Only a purebred vampire could turn others, and she was in charge of locating purebreds and keeping count of how many were left. Her shyness was no good for speaking publicly, so she handled the vamps and behind the scenes stuff. There was only one other purebred right now. Naruto had to wait until the vampire in front of him woke up before he could ask anything. But with just eleven bitten left and only one purebred that went off the radar, as well as hunters 'warning' everyone to be careful, everything was looking pretty grim for the species, especially since the eleven bitten were all female. They couldn't produce any new pure blooded vamps.

Naruto sighed. He had to head to work soon. He had only turned twenty-one last month and there was still a lot he had to take care of at home, and this vampire was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Naruto couldn't say he didn't look forward to the look on Hinata's face when he told her, but for the time being he wasn't sure what to do unless the vampire slept all day, which Naruto didn't doubt in the last that he would. Naruto sighed again, heading out the door and casting one last worried look at the red-headed vampire sleeping on his couch. He left the building with that same worry and a faint sense of guilt.

There was a vampire in his apartment. There was a vampire in his apartment. There was a vampire in his apartment. No matter how often or which words he emphasized, those seven words were a shock that continued in the back of his mind. Naruto walked into the place he worked, a restaurant where he served as a waiter and occasional bus boy called The Picket Fence, a quaint little place lit softly with wood floors and served a little bit of everything for everybody. Except, of course, vampires. When their numbers had dipped below two hundred, artificial blood had stopped being produced. Naruto walked in, and was immediately swamped with tasks. Naruto started on his work, pinning the My Name Is: Naruto tag onto his shirt. He had a lot to do today, and calling Hinata was a top priority, next to keeping his job.

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When Gaara woke up, he remember being panicked and edgy. He couldn't call to mind why. Gaara sat up, looking around. This was…not his home. Even though it was dusk, the last rays of light stretched through the windows that didn't have Gaara's thick black curtains on them. He looked around, confused. Things that happened before he fell asleep were always harder to remember. He sighed, massaging his temples while he struggled for the memory of last dawn. It was stubborn, but then it came. It was that loud, smiling blonde boy. He let him crash here because of the sun. Gaara's eyes widened in understanding, and then narrowed them again. It was time to end his stay. As Gaara walked to the door, it opened, and his exit was cut off. "Hey there!" The blonde exclaimed eagerly, but currents of anxiety coursed beneath the surface. Gaara wasn't sure if he was the cause of his anxiety, but he didn't care. "I was just leaving." Gaara said smoothly. "Er, why don't you stay a bit?" He asked awkwardly. He was smiling, but it didn't reach the look in his eyes. Suspicion bubbled up instantly.

"I really think I should go." Gaara said softly, the first and only warning the blonde boy would get. And then, coming panting from the elevator, was the girl from the night before. "I...came…as…soon…as…I…could." She panted. Then her gaze locked onto Gaara. "You…y-you're t-t-the g-g-guy f-from last n-night." She stammered. "Yes, I am." Gaara agreed monotonously. This child probably didn't know up from down. He crossed his arms. "I will be leaving now." Gaara said more firmly, moving to step past the boy. The blonde was blocking the doorway. Gaara wondered if he wanted to die tonight. He was trying his already thin patience. "My friend…ah, she works for National Association of the Conservation of Vampires. She'd really like to meet you, for her work." He said. Gaara felt his eye twitch, and his sarcasm go to its full strength. "The NCV? That rings some unpleasant bells." He said curtly. The boy just blinked.

"What are you talking about?" He asked at last. Gaara wanted to roll his eyes at this insolent human, but that would be far too expressive. "I'm saying I know NCV and I'm not telling anything to anybody from there." Gaara wanted to add a 'fuck you, and farewell' to the sentence, but he didn't. Instead, he pushed roughly past the boy and went for the elevator. "Wait! Hey, I'm Naruto, okay? Where can we meet?" He asked frantically. Gaara restrained from sneering at the idiot. "In hell." He responded darkly as the doors slid shut.

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Hinata looked was quiet, her whole face beet red. "We can catch him if we run down the stairs." Naruto said, not waiting for an answer, just dragging his friend down the staircase. His meant the world to her, and Naruto would do everything in his power to help her out. Six flights later, they were wheezing in front of the elevator, and it dinged pleasantly, opening to reveal the scowling, not-so-pleasant face of an annoyed vampire. "Wait, we just want to talk." Naruto gasped and Hinata look too stricken to do anything. The vampire looked at the elevator buttons, and then at us, then stepped out, snorting. "What part of I'm not talking to anybody from NCV did not penetrate your thick skull?" He asked, glaring.

Naruto looked at Hinata, who was looking down, and forced a smile. "Can I ask some non-personal questions, then? I know this place downtown that serves great coffee and tea." He begged. The dark look intensified. "Why do you think I'll go with you? I'm certainly not going with her." The vampire growled, giving Hinata a scathing look. Naruto thought hard on everything Hinata had told him about the manners and traditions of vampire, anything he could use to his advantage. He couldn't lose him just yet, not when the whole species and Hinata's job was crumbling; Naruto could and would definitely help her. "Because you owe me for letting you escape and for saving you from crisping in the sun." Naruto managed to say. The vampire looked more irritated, but a little uncomfortable too. "I would have been fine without you. I could have shoved you out of the way, or just hid in an alleyway until dark. I don't owe you anything." He said.

Naruto really needed to hook him, and his fake smile didn't falter. "I thought vampires held their word." He said. Hinata was desperate, and there weren't that many left and only one purebred. Everyone at her work was tense, with the last vampires dropping away. "I thought humans held their tongues." The vampire said suddenly, interrupting Naruto's train of thought. His hopes fell as he saw the vampire step around them. "I'll contact you, but not now, not with her around, and certainly not here. I have things to do." He added, giving Hinata another vicious look before walking past the two friends into the dark street. Naruto bit back a groan, and Hinata looked worried. "I-I-I-I'm sorry, N-Naruto." She faltered. Naruto gave her a huge and very real sympathetic smile. "It's fine, Hinata. If he's really one of them, I'll let you know. Besides, he said he'll contact me, right? Don't worry." He said. The guilt in her eyes sparked a strange feeling in Naruto's chest, and he considered asking, but pushed it down. Hinata was fine. If she had something troubling her, she would come to him in her own time. "I'll see you later!" Naruto yelled as Hinata stood to go. She smiled back at the blonde, waving and blushing as she too went out into the night.

The next day was very peaceful at first. Naruto went to work, covered for a sick co-worker, came home as the sun sank into the sky, it was fine. Until he walked into his apartment to see a vampire draped on his kitchen counter, sucking the red from one of the apples from the fridge and biting into the now white surface innocently. "What in the world are you doing here?" Naruto shouted, more than a little confused. "Hiding in your apartment." The vamp answered, looking at Naruto with a bored expression. "Hiding in my apartment? Why?" Naruto asked. Why was strange stuff always happening to him? The vamp bit the apple again, watching it as he chewed, and then swallowing before he finally answered Naruto. "They searched my apartment and set up an ambush and some explosives. Obviously, I'm not going back there." He said.

Naruto took some really deep breaths. "So you broke into my apartment?" He asked incredulously. The vampire rolled his eyes. "Oh, very bright. You must be some sort of genius." He said. Naruto took that as a yes. "So why did you come to my apartment?" He asked. "I don't get it." The vamp took another painfully slow bite of the apple in his hand. "Don't flatter yourself. Before I can ditch town I have a debt to settle with you. You did me a favor; I'm doing you a favor. But I am deeming what is a personal question or not." The vampire said. Naruto took another deep breath, a little nervous. There were two tales of vampires, vicious blood suckers and super powerful people that required blood. "Okay then, first question. What's your name?" Naruto asked hesitantly. The smirk that found its way on the vampire's lips sent a shiver down his spine. "My name is Gaara." He said eloquently, and Naruto wanted a notepad very suddenly, in case he forgot anything later. "Er…okay. How old are you?" Naruto asked.

The jeering aqua eyes darkened suddenly. "That is a personal question." He said darkly, smirk gone. "Uh, sorry. Are you really a vampire?" Naruto asked, confused by Gaara's sudden mood swing. "Of course I am. How could you mistake me for anything else?" He said disdainfully, giving Naruto a hostile glance. And now the big question, for Hinata. "Are you a purebred?" The vampire – Gaara- was silent, looking at the apple with an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you asking this for your friend, the one working at the NCV?" He asked frostily. "Well…uh, yeah, sort of. I mean, it'd be really great to know and all, so I guess it's sort of for me too." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head anxiously, a nervous smile forming on his face. Gaara's eyes were cold and hard. "In that case, it's a personal question and not at all favorable for you." He said. His immediate dismissal of his question, just because it was for Hinata, made Naruto pretty pissed. "What's your deal with the NCV? What did they ever do to you?" He asked angrily. His best friend worked there, so how bad could they possibly be? The cold, bitter smile from the vampire on Naruto's countertop send more of those chills racing up and down his spine and warned Naruto that perhaps his brazen outburst wasn't the wisest course of action. "Would you like to know? About fifty years ago, the NCV wasn't what it is -or says to be- now. It was the NVHA. Do you know what that stands for?" He asked.

"N-No." Naruto said uneasily as his small smile faded. He didn't like where this was going, what the vampire was getting at. "It stands for the National Vampire Hunter's Association. They changed their name and intentions when they saw they were hunting themselves out of a job. So now they have a new little hobby: hunting vampires and doing a little live capture. You think I'm going to let them drag me around?" He said, swinging off the counter and striding to stand in front of Naruto. It was menacing, the way he sort of loomed. It was a creepy trait of vamps, their eerie tallness. "The girl knows I know. She won't admit it, no, but she knows I'm not going to sit around and let her do whatever she wanted to do to me." Gaara growled in a barely audible voice. Naruto swallowed hard, looking down. Fear coursed through him at the vampire's closeness, the way no warmth radiated off his body like normal people. Vampires were irrefutably dead, and it was creepy.

"Do you have any more questions to ask for your little friend or for you before I go?" He asked. The overpowering smell of mint, laced with sweat and cigarette smoke from the club rolled off Gaara, filling every bit of Naruto's scent, clogging his brain. He stepped back, and Gaara followed his movements until Naruto was pressed against the wall, the vampires calculating eyes on him. "N-No." Naruto managed to stammer. It felt like more effort than usual was forced into the words, like actually saying them was harder for Naruto then they should be. "Good. I suppose we can talk again another time." Gaara growled, and slipped out of his door silently. Naruto released a shaky breath and closed his eyes. Did that really just happen? Naruto knew he probably should have said something else, but all that he could see in his mind was Gaara, trapping him against the wall without ever touching him, not even brushing against him.

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Gaara kept his eyes on the blonde after that, following every message he put online, hacking his computer to see everything the boy did. All because there was something there that intrigued him. Gaara doubted Naruto could prove that he had seen him, and therefore he was no threat to keep track of. But yet Gaara did keep track of the man and all because he felt like it. Honestly, Gaara couldn't remember the last time he had done something risky just because he felt like it. Currently, he was on a plane back to the city, back to where Naruto was. And he was continually wondering why. It was stupid, but he craved the blonde, Naruto, he kept reminding himself, like an addict craves alcohol or drugs. It drove him mad. "You're flight will be landing soon. Please return all trays to their upright position and have a nice day." The flight attendant said over the speaker. Gaara looked out the window. He only took day flights, so he got off at night depending on how long it took, and the sun was gone.

He hadn't packed anything more than a duffel bag with his clothes and laptop, and his phone in his pocket. The little girl across the aisle kept staring the whole trip at him, pulling on her mother's sleeve from time to time to whisper something in her ear. It wasn't unnerving; if little things like that unsettled him, than he would be a nervous wreck twenty-four seven. The flashing lights of the runway came into view, growing larger and larger as the plane touched down. Gaara waited patiently and didn't hurry to get in line. As the packed humans thinned, then he joined into the line making their way off the plane. Humans were swarming the place, but for a moment, a flash of black hair caught his eye, the familiar presence of another vamp, but then it was gone. Gaara scowled. This obsession is affecting my mind, He thought irritably as he shook his head vigorously and hefted his bag over his shoulder, careful to make sure his laptop wasn't sustaining any damage. This could be a long, long trip.

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"Naruto quit daydreaming!" This shout was accompanied by a whack on the blonde's head. Naruto himself was sitting at a table with the three friends who worked at NCV, Sakura, Hinata, and Shino. Naruto winced, rubbing the back of his head where Sakura had hit him. "Sorry…" He mumbled. Shino had been watching him (Or, at least, he thought so. It was hard to tell with Shino) through the whole lunch break. It was one of those days where he ate lunch with them, double special because Shino just got back to the city from traveling. "Oh! Naruto met a vampire, Shino, before you had to go traveling." Sakura exclaimed. Shino's head jerked so suddenly to Sakura that Naruto almost jumped. Such expressive motions were not usually part of the quiet man's schedule.

"What did he look like, the vampire?" Shino asked softly. He had Naruto's full attention now in the small lunchroom. Sakura looked at Naruto, and he looked away. "What _did_ he look like?" Sakura asked. "Er…he had red hair, was wearing eyeliner and had blue eyes." Naruto explained, frowning as he called to mind the vamp. It was him eating an apple on his counter that stuck the most, the invitingness to it that most vampires supposedly lacked. "That vampire is in town. He came off my flight and into town last night." Shino said. Naruto could only gape and wonder what the hell fate was trying to pull on him. "I…I have to get back to work." He finally managed to choke out. Naruto walked uneasily down the street. He had a feeling that this was only the beginning of the end.

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Gaara walked into the restaurant his sources told him Naruto worked. He was fevered with the need to talk, to see the noisy overconfident blonde again. He hated it so much. It burned at his pride to know how much and at what lengths he was going to be here today, at two forty-five pm exactly, one hour and fifteen minutes after Naruto's lunch break ended and he would be waiting the tables in the top left corner of the little place. He walked purposefully over to one of the booths, sliding in and picking up the menu. It was a cozy place, with wood floors, mellow lighting, and brick walls, everything toned to the color red. Gaara knew the reason behind this. This was once his favorite restaurant, when artificial blood was still served and he did not need to hunt, where here he had been known quite distinctly as 'vampire'. Now, he settled with waiting patiently. It was doubtful he would eat much. Even if he ordered something organic, the chemicals that made him sick, all the artificial stuff, would no doubt have rubbed off a little.

Gaara was most certainly not in the mood for vomiting his night away. He knew it must look odd for him to be wearing a pair of dark jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a hoodie, but it was the middle of the day. Gaara had gotten himself adjusted to sleeping at night. Soon, he would go back to sleeping during the day, but he had planned far too long for this day. As predicted, Naruto came sauntering over, notepad in hand, smiling broadly. "May I take your order sir?" He asked politely. Gaara pushed the hood back, giving the blonde man a large fake smile, barely enough to show his fangs. "I believe I've decided. I'll take water for right now." He said, watching with a comfortable malicious joy as the Naruto went beet red, pen poised above the paper. He seemed to come back to earth at some point, though. "Uh, er, ah, y-yes. I'm going to, ah, go now." He said hastily, moving away.

Gaara watched with smug satisfaction as the boy scampered off as quickly as socially acceptable. Fifteen minutes later, his grin grew as a very anxious Naruto placed his drink in front of him. Gaara sipped sparingly, drinking in the sight of Naruto as he rushed around, coming back to anxiously ask if he needed anything else. Being with the blond was priceless, until the doors burst open, and who should be there but Haruno Sakura, head hunter of division three of the NCV, sporting a particularly large rifle probably loaded with enough tranquilizers to put a tyrannosaurus rex to sleep. Gaara felt his plan fall away, one detail overlooked. It was like most plans: just when you're most confident, everything falls apart. Gaara was struggling whether to stay put or get up and leave when the choice was made for him. One of the many tranquilizers in the girls gun his him squarely in the arm. It would take at least three more to knock him out, but Gaara was up immediately, sprinting for the kitchen door. There were voices, everywhere, yelling orders, and panicking, but Gaara ignored them, bursting past the cooks and waiters in the kitchen and out the door.

And was greeted with several red lights focused on him, enough that it gave him an eerie red glow and definitely spiked his nerves. He swallowed hard, looking to the owners of the guns whose lasers were now focused exclusively on him. These were not rookies. These were hard core, trained and seasoned hunters. And he had gotten careless, done the most classic example of thinking he could run out the back door. Gaara knew this, and it burned almost as much as sun on him, its searing burn reddening his exposed face and hands. Gaara squinted, raising his hands slowly. The girl elbowed her way forward, her eyes a dark green that bored into him. "Are you armed in any sort?" She asked. Her tone was clipped, professional. I'm so screwed; he thought and pulled the needle out of his arm, throwing it in front of them, listening to the glass shattering. The sun burned. It burned and searched for every inch of exposed skin. "Is that all?" The pink headed girl asked. Gaara wondered if it was.

He nodded. Her look was dubious. Gaara looked past her to the large retrieval van parked outside their ranks. "Good then. I want you to lie on the ground, be very still." She said. Gaara heard the warning in her voice, and wondered if he would get his chance at escape soon. "Don't even think about it. If you try to fight, you'll be so drugged up you won't be conscious for weeks." The girl said in a tone that spoke her sureness. Maybe not, then. Gaara sank onto his knees, feeling his pride crack a little more with every centimeter, until he was lying on the ground, face against the concrete and arms above his head. The girl sauntered over and he watched her with barely contained fury and indignation. She was decades younger than him and had the audacity to look as though she had done all of this herself.

Gaara's arms were pulled behind his back and the cuffs were snapped on, and he felt the extra, heavier dose of the tranquilizer they used administered. His pride might not quite recover from this humiliation. The sun burned. The pink haired girl stepped back, holding up her fist in a classic wait motion. Gaara could feel the drug seeping through his veins, slowing him down and adding to the exhaustion he had been feeling lately. And then he was dragged up and to the waiting mouth of the van.

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Naruto watched as the van left, anxious. The restaurant was closing for the day, and he sat on the curb trying to decide what he would do now. The vampire was definitely stalking him, or at the very least trying to see him today. A call to Hinata had ended that. He didn't know why he had called them. But he had, and in the end, the only sign that those people had been there was the shattered glass behind the building and the van disappearing down the road. He was nervous around that vampire, and now the vampire was gone. So he should feel good, right? Why did he feel then like he'd sold his soul? And then it struck him. So now they have a new little hobby: hunting vampires and bringing them in alive. You think I'm going to let them drag me around? Gaara's words rang in his head. As much as he hated to admit it, the vampire had been right. They had been in, picked him up, and been out.

It unsettled Naruto, and the next week when he was eating lunch with Hinata and Sakura (Shino had vanished again.) an odd silence enveloped them. "Thanks, Naruto." Sakura said suddenly. Naruto looked up at his pink haired friend. "Thanks for what?" He asked, but he had a feeling he knew already. "For the vamp, duh. He won't talk, but at the very least, he's undeniably male." Sakura said, twisting up a face at Naruto, but grinning. Naruto shrugged, chewing the ramen he was eating. It was awkward for him to be in this situation. Again, Gaara's words ran in his head. It was something they had been doing a lot more, and Naruto didn't really like it. He had a guilty conscious, though he didn't think there was really any justification for it, and Sakura's chattering away wasn't helping relieve it. "…so then, everything will be all better. It's just a matter of time, like training falcons." Sakura was saying. She looked at Naruto incredulously.

"You know how about falcon's training, right?" She asked. Naruto shook his head. If Sakura knew that was the only part he had heard, she would thrash him. Sakura leaned back, sighing exaggeratedly. "Kakashi trains falcons. He was the one who explained it in the first place. When he catches wild falcons, they're very hostile and prideful. With time, strictness, and then kindness they'll bend to their owner's will." Sakura explained. Naruto had no idea what training wild falcons had to do with anything, but he nodded anyway. It was better than Sakura hitting him again. Sakura smiled. "Good." She said, apparently satisfied as she went back to her own food. Hinata was fiddling with her shirts top button, and Naruto could already guess that she had something to say. "N-Naruto?" She asked hesitantly. Naruto watched her. "Yeah?" He asked, waiting. "The v-vampire…h-h-he g-gave u-u-u-us a p-password; H-H-He's b-been s-s-s-s-s-stalking y-y-you." The quiet girl said.

Naruto didn't quite get it for a moment. But then it clicked, very, very fast. I suppose we can talk again another time. The red headed vampires meaning behind those words was glaringly obvious. Sakura looked a little uncomfortable and not in the least guilt at withholding the info from him. Naruto was just confused. "He's been what?" He asked. "Stalking you dummy; he gave us a password to an online account showing everything he's hacked to get at you, including your computer. He's been following everything you do for the last two months." Sakura said with a shrug. It didn't make sense. Why would a vampire follow him?

Naruto shook his head, picking up his chopsticks and empty bowl. "I have to get back to work." He said. Shino walked into the room just then, handing Naruto a tiny slip of paper before sitting down. Naruto assumed he had a later break now, with whatever new thing he had been assigned to recently. But when he left and opened the paper, he was surprised. Room B3 7:00 PM Friday. And that was all it said. It was an invitation of sorts, and he knew it was in the building he had just exited. The 'B', Sakura had told him when they passed the elevator, was most obviously for the basement. So, then, the third room in the basement? It confused Naruto, but went to work anyway. He didn't have time right now to ponder over the mysteriousness of his friend.

On Friday, as he left work as quickly as possible to be on time for his meeting, or whatever it was, Naruto was uneasy. The basement was strictly off limits, and he wasn't sure it was a good idea to go. But, if he didn't, he guessed Shino would kill him, in some quiet way. So he walked nervously into the building, walking into the elevator and pressing the B. The elevator slid down, it's steel surface cold and hard. The elevator slid open as silently as it had shut, and Naruto stepped out. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but this wasn't it. It was full of men dressed in neat slacks with white coats and occasionally goggles, researchers taking notes, and the long hallways had closed doors clearly marked with numbers. Naruto walked down the hallway, and was approached by a lazy looking silver-haired man that Naruto vaguely remembered as the current leader of the NCV. He swallowed hard. He knew he didn't belong here, and the lazy lope of the man approaching him made him feel like a cornered animal. "You must be Naruto. Come down the hall with me." He said. The mask that covered his whole face, except one eye, didn't make Naruto feel any more relaxed.

"Why are you so nervous, Mr. Uzumaki?" The silver haired man asked. "How'd you tell?" Naruto asked, curious as to the man's reading abilities. The man, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto suddenly remembered, laughed as he opened as door with a three on the front. "I can read vampires, Mr. Uzumaki. Humans are very easy after you've mastered vamps." He explained, that same still calm in his voice. It freaked Naruto out. "So why am I here?" He asked, looking around. His apprehension was not lifted when he saw several construction workers fixing a massive hole in the wall. "You're here, Mr. Uzumaki," Kakashi started, but Naruto cut him off. "Just Naruto, please." He said. Kakashi looked at him a while before continuing. "You're here, Naruto, because you're an object of interest for a vampire that refuses to do anything we ask or talk. Two weeks ago, he gave us an eighty-six digit password for his account on a computer site. And guess what happened when we signed in? There was a massive virus and a video of him flipping us off." He said.

Naruto swallowed hard, blown away by the overall creepiness of the vampire he had known for, what? Only three days, maybe. Kakashi turned down another corridor. "Right over here, okay?" He said to Naruto. Naruto nodded, scratching the back of his head anxiously and following Kakashi's gaze. He was looking into a window of a vampire-proof interrogation room. He assumed that the glaring vampire sitting in a chair at the table couldn't see him, but he still felt uneasy, mostly because the vampire jerked so fast towards what Naruto knew the vampire could only see his reflection in that Naruto jumped backwards. Kakashi chuckled. "Relax. He can't see us, hear us very well, and he definitely can't get to us." The older man said. Naruto edged back over to the window, looking at the familiar, furious features of the vampire. It was strange like this, but Kakashi didn't seem to care. "Stay here, okay?" He asked the blonde, and Naruto nodded. Where would he go, anyway?

Kakashi tapped a code into the pad next to the door, and walked into the room with the red-head in it. Naruto panicked briefly, but then noticed the small anklet on the red head. It had a soft green pulsing light, so he assumed that was a good thing. Kakashi pulled out a recorder and placed on the middle of the table before sitting down. Surprisingly, Naruto could hear very well through the wall. "What do you want?" Gaara spat at Kakashi. Naruto took a step back; the palpable fury, hatred, and venom in the vampire's voice enough to make him step back in surprise. "I just want to talk…do you know why you're here?" The silvery haired man said calmly. Gaara snorted. "Obviously, I know why you say I'm here. If I'm purebred, you want me to turn people. If I'm bitten, you want me to go fuck some of those female vamps." He snarled. It sounded odd coming out of his mouth. Sure, Naruto wasn't a perfect model for language himself, but vamps were usually very reserved.

"Correct, that's very good of you. Do you know who is outside the door right now, watching us?" Kakashi asked with no visible or audible change in his emotions. Gaara leaned back, crossing his arms and watching Kakashi. Naruto himself was wondering how the vampire would react. "No." He said, clearly and firmly. Kakashi leaned forward, a barely noticeable movement. "Naruto Uzumaki." He said with the same calmness and clearness of Gaara's no. What Gaara said next was so soft, barely breathed, that Naruto didn't catch it. What he said next, however, was very clear. "What's he doing here? How much does he know?" The vampire asked suspiciously. Kakashi chuckled again. "I'm afraid I won't be telling you. Let's make a deal: For every question I answer, you have to answer one of mine." Kakashi said. Naruto glanced at the unchanging look of dark rage on Gaara's face and shuddered. He felt as though if he were the one in there, he would most certainly not have the composure Kakashi had.

He would probably crap his pants and beg for mercy. The horror films of the viscous blood-suckers had not helped this situation. Right now, though, the question, the offer, was still on the table. Gaara stared at the table as though it was a real, solid thing that could be picked up. There was a long painful silence while the vampire frowned. Then, when Naruto was sure he would probably break down the door if he had to wait another moment, Gaara stuck his hand out and broke the suspense. "Deal; but I'm not answering to you. Send the blond in." He said. His voice was hard, but Naruto thought he could hear something underlying it, something that made him want to back out of the building as inconspicuously as possible. Kakashi shook hands with Gaara, and just like that, his fate was sealed. He sort of blanked out, contemplated running, but then Kakashi was by his side, handing him a list. "Just ask him these. Don't worry, if he attacks you, the anklet will administer a drug that will knock him out in two seconds flat. The recorder is already on. Just go and ask." He said. Right, Naruto thought apprehensively. Just go ask.

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Gaara waited. As a rule, he could be patient, but just now he was ready to throw something, which would have been possible and a great stress reliever had the furniture not been bolted to the ground. By the time he had pulled it out, he would be drooling on the floor. Gaara watched as Naruto came in, holding a list that presumably were the questions he was to answer. He would have to make a mental note to remember how many, so that he knew how many questions he could ask and get answers to. Naruto sat down in the chair across from Gaara, and Gaara didn't let his gaze leave the boy. The boy was so obviously nervous it was strange to look at. Gaara much preferred his confidence, but he had this effect on most people who knew what he was. The NCV were an exception to the rule. They were trained to not be fearful of vampires. "Ah, um, the first question. Okay, uh, are you a purebred or bitten?" Naruto asked, smiling weakly.

Gaara didn't know whether to pity the boys fear or laugh at it. "Pure bred." He said. His mother was bitten; his father came from a long line of purebreds. Before, when there were more vampires, the teasing from having a bitten, dead mother was a lot to take, as she had been staked in delivering him and his father staked(in vampire terms) shortly after. But that didn't matter. "How old are you?" The boy asked, with clearly more confidence, and more genuine smile. This was a tough one. The years had sort of blended along together at some point, and calculating them was hard. If he could remember what year he was born in, everything would be fine. "About four hundred give or take a few years." Gaara finally said with a shrug. What did age matter, anyway? That he could last longer in the sun, that he had more control of the Hunger? It was a useless mass of years.

Naruto blinked with wide eyes at the paper he was holding, his smile faltering a little, and his blue eyes unsure. "Do you, uh, are you, um, sexually active?" He asked still bright red. It was laughable, and Gaara let a wry smile twist his lips. "No, I'm afraid not." He said. This was much more amusing then it would be to have that calm human asking him them. "Are you, uh, fertile?" Naruto asked. Gaara could have laughed. If he started, he doubted he would stop for a long, long time. The blonde's reaction interested him to no end. He leaned forward, speaking low enough that the recorder wouldn't catch it, but enough that Naruto would hear. "Do you want to find out?" He asked, and Naruto leaned away from him. Gaara caught himself suddenly. It was odd, and he moved back quickly, covering his face in the mask of neutrality. "Yes." He said flatly, mortified at that outburst, but still pleased with the blonde's reaction. Naruto nodded, keeping an eye on Gaara. "Do you have any currently living descendants?" He asked, frowning a little.

How stupid the NCV think he was? "No." Gaara answered decisively. When condoms had come out, Gaara had wasted no time using them when he bedded someone. It saved a lot of trouble in the future, he knew. Naruto squinted at the list. "Okay, one more, do you have a medical history for the NCV to access?" He asked. This question would probably bring more trouble than the others. "Yes." He answered without changing his tone. His medical history wasn't a sterling example of physical or mental health. He was a vampire and still on medication for the problems that plagued his mind. Well, was until he was dragged here. He doubted that being off his antipsychotics and antidepressants was a good thing. The antidepressants were somewhat new, starting after the vampires began to die out and Gaara was wondering why he should be alive. Not literally alive, anyway. When one didn't have a pulse, one was officially dead.

Naruto was scurrying to the door, with a calmer smile while Gaara stared blankly ahead, his brow wrinkling into a frown. The NCV would no doubt get into his medical history, but they had saved themselves a lot of trouble by flat-out asking him, Gaara knew. On the positive side he had six free questions for his captors. Only six, though, and he had to ask carefully, to make the most of them. He swallowed a sigh as two of the hunters came in, doubtlessly to lead him back to his room. The one loaded with security cameras, locks, and guards at the doors. Forget windows. Right now, though, he wished he could take the blonde male with him. Gaara stood from the chair and followed the hunters out. Gaara was feeling things that he hadn't felt in a few years.

And it was terrifying to think of the power that Naruto could hold over his head. Gaara refused to look at the said blond as he walked out the door. He didn't sweat because he couldn't anymore, but he made a mental note that if he could, he probably would be doing so right now. Gaara let a smirk flit over his face, wondering how Naruto would -or already did- react to his obsession. As he entered his temporary space, he sighed as he heard the locks click shut and wondered where things would go from here: up or further down?

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"Naruto, Are you okay?" Naruto looked at the owner of the voice. One of his coworkers, Ten Ten, who took to being a waitress fairly well, and did everything with a big-ass grin on her face, much like, but subtly different from, Naruto. Naruto nodded, forcing a smile back onto his face. It was too strange, seeing a vampire once a week, the same day he ate with his friends who worked there. It was a lot to think about, but Gaara seemed to cling to Naruto and would not speak to anyone else unless clarifying that he would only speak to Naruto. It endlessly confused Naruto, and trying to think about it was a pain in the ass. Naruto had noticed, during their last discussion where Gaara was fuming about the NCV that alternated between using 'ass' and 'arse'. It gave Naruto a hint about what life had been like when Gaara was young, and was interesting to hear him say, quite wrathfully, 'arse-hole', only to say roughly five minutes later 'ass-hole'.

Naruto sighed, going out with a huge fake smile on. Not many could tell the difference, but in the past month, Gaara had picked up quick. After he had had a fight with Sakura right before he went to see him because he couldn't tell her what he did in the basement, he had used a fake smile for the red-headed vampire. Gaara had noticed immediately, and Naruto had ended up being the one ranting with Gaara listening attentively and quietly. Right after he left work, he had a call, from, Kakashi. This worried the blond. Kakashi didn't call him often. "Hello?" He asked as he opened his phone. "You don't need to come in today, Naruto." Kakashi's voice said through the speakers. "Oh, um, okay. Does Gaara know?" Naruto asked, a little bit bewildered but going along with it.

Kakashi's chuckle over the phone was a strange raspy sound. "Yes, he knows. He threw a tantrum, flipped over a couch, and locked himself in the bathroom." Kakashi said. He didn't sound in the least upset. Actually, he sounded as though he thought it was funny. "What's so funny?" Naruto asked, giving in to the temptation to ask. "He's four hundred years old, Naruto. At his age, he shouldn't be doing that much of an emotional display, especially such a childish one." Kakashi said. Naruto understood that, at least. "Mr. Hatake, may I ask you a question?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, what is it?" Kakashi said. "How long do vampires live?" Naruto asked. "Well, before he was killed, the oldest vampire was three thousand and was said to be able to walk under the sun all day with no negative side effects." Kakashi replied easily. Naruto nodded to himself. "Okay then. Bye Mr. Hatake." He said as he hung up.

Why was this so confusing?

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Gaara tapped his fingers against the table impatiently. He had to be patient and do nothing for a whole week at a time. He could afford to be patient with Naruto half an hour late. Gaara didn't care that Kakashi was watching, that he had been watching when he had thrown that couch the week before. What did it matter, anyway? He had turned three males who were close to the female vamps already, and now he was locked up here to turn a few more, and then for his 'protection'. He wanted to snort. Protection his ass, they kept him close because the last purebred they had their hands on had left. They weren't going to make the same mistake twice, it seemed. There was a soft rush of air most wouldn't detect, but Gaara turned so swiftly the blonde standing there almost left. "Where the fuck have you been?" Gaara growled. The door was closed by Kakashi, just as Naruto turned to reconsider coming in. Turning slowly, Gaara watched Naruto as the blond opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again.

"I…I was covering someone's shift at work. There was a lot of commotion." He faltered. He hadn't felt this connected to someone since… he didn't really want to remember when. "So, uh, how are you?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly and smiling. "I could be doing better." He said ominously as he leaned back and watched Naruto through narrowed eyes. Naruto looked up at him, adding some extra sunshine into his smile.

Damn…he didn't need to be thinking about this right now. Gaara looked away, towards the one-way window. All he saw was himself staring back, but he had no doubt at all that Kakashi was right by it. "Naruto, if you could have anything in the world, what would you want?" Gaara asked. Gaara knew what he wanted: freedom from oppressive hate and the threat of being killed always with him. Naruto was silent, and Gaara flicked his gaze over to him. The blond looked thoughtful, than shrugged. "I'd want to end the constant power struggle that goes on everywhere in the world." He said. Ouch. That was unexpected, especially considering Gaara had climbed pretty high on that particular ladder, with enough time to dredge up a shitload of money.

But Gaara just nodded politely and looked at the wall instead. "Are you okay, Gaara? You're pretty quiet tonight." Naruto commented. It was meant to be casual, yes, but Gaara knew that the boy was suspicious and concerned, as Gaara usually fumed his rage to the blonde. Naruto was his one refuge, a haven that he so badly wanted to keep as his. It had been a while since he had had a human companion. Naruto would be a good replacement for her…"You're doing it again." Naruto said. Gaara looked at the boy. "Doing what?" he asked. "Staring off into space, you've done it three times already. What's up?" The blond asked, leaning forward. Oh, if he wanted to know what was up, Gaara could happily tell him. But he had more self-control than that. "I'm sick of this place. It's been over a month, I've turned enough people. I'm ready to leave." I said, glaring pointedly at the glass.

Naruto didn't say anything, and Gaara looked at the male. Gaara sighed, closing his eyes. "Maybe you should go." He said softly. He didn't want to deal with the blonde now. He had to focus on leaving. He had held up his end of the bargain, and he should have been gone a while ago. Now they were holding him prisoner. Naruto looked visibly hurt and shocked, leaving Gaara with an edge of guilt that felt odd and out of place in his usual range of emotion. "Oh. Uh, do you want me to come back next week?" Naruto asked with a crestfallen look. Gaara shook his head no, not able to meet the blonde's eyes as he planned.

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It was actually two weeks later that Naruto was informed that Gaara had escaped. His initial reaction went like this: "WHAT!" His next was quiet. So that was why Gaara didn't want him to come back. He said nothing to Kakashi, and he politely refused to let the NCV put up cameras in his house. It was only three days later he wished he had. He walked into his apartment, and the building was dark. He fumbled for a light switch, and a hand wrapped around his shoulder. "Don't do that, Naruto." It was a barely breathed sentence, but chills were going down Naruto's spine. He knew that voice…Gaara. "What are you doing?" he finally managed to force out. A light lit up the face of the pale vampire, and Naruto looked for the source of the light…his phone. "You're not calling anyone this time, Naruto." He said with a ghost of a smirk.

Naruto was trying not to tremble hard as the light disappeared. "Don't worry, Naruto." Gaara said in his ear, his breath suspiciously warm. Naruto shuddered, suddenly fearful of where this was going. His heart was racing as Gaara pressed him up against the wall, his fear turning into full-blown terror. This was it. Gaara was going to feed off him, kill him, and ditch the city. What happened next was not at all what he expected. Gaara was at his neck, yes, but he wasn't biting him. He was...smelling him? Naruto was by now just confused. Very abruptly, he pulled back, eyes focused on something else. "What?" He went to ask, but was cut off by a deep growl from the red-head vampire pinning him up against the wall. The phone in the vampire's pocket buzzed. "Damn it." Gaara murmured, and Naruto frowned.

"That's my-" He started, but was once again cut off as the vampire pinned his arms above his head with one hand and pulled out the phone with the other, scowling at the screen and flipping it open. Naruto noticed a little dimly that Gaara's hair looked purple when contrasted with the blue light of his phone and that it seemed a lot brighter than when he had come into his apartment earlier. It was almost funny, but then the phone was pressed against his ear. "Answer it." Gaara hissed, narrowing his eyes into slits. "Uh, hello?" Naruto asked. "Naruto? I thought you had left. Where are you?" Kakashi's voice filtered through, strangely loud in the quiet apartment. Naruto was looking at the vampire's warning gaze, swallowing hard. "Uh, I'm at my apartment right now. Why? What's going on?" Naruto asked. "Have you seen the vampire recently?" Kakashi asked. Gaara shook his head no, the warning still there. "No, not really." Naruto said, the lie leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"You're lying. When did you last see him?" Kakashi asked in that same dead-pan voice. 'On my way home from work.' Gaara mouthed to him. "On my way home from work." Naruto stammered. "What day?" Kakashi asked. Naruto felt dizzy, confused by the contrast of these two people. 'Yesterday.' Gaara continued silently. "Y-yesterday." Naruto forced out. "Naruto, are you okay?" There was no concern in Kakashi's voice, but Naruto felt he needed to scrape up an excuse. "I'm just a little nervous. What's going on?" Naruto said. "I'm on my way over there right now, because you're lying. Sakura saw Gaara on the roof of your apartment building half an hour ago, Naruto. You're not exactly safe." Kakashi said, and the line went dead. "Damn!" Naruto recoiled from the angry outburst of the vampire who shoved Naruto's phone in his pocket before fixing his gaze on Naruto. "You're coming with me." He said icily.

Naruto swallowed hard as Gaara walked to his window, forced it open, and looked down before throwing Naruto over his shoulder. "Wait, Gaara! It's six floors down, and the fire escape is on a different window!" Naruto shouted as the vampire, the bane of Naruto's existence, settled on the window sill. The vampire gave Naruto a look he didn't quite understand. "I know." He said expressionlessly right before he slid out and Naruto was sure that this was the end of his life.

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Gaara slid up the wall of the apartment building, jumping from roof to roof easily. Naruto's weight on his shoulder was awkward and stiff, so Gaara knew the blonde hadn't passed out. The blonde did start yelling again, to Gaara's annoyance, when he jumped into a bin on a train full of coal. He sank in, his black clothes fine, but his pale skin smeared with the very staining blackness. He was fine with that as he clambered back up onto surface, but Naruto apparently wasn't as he was standing there already; wind blowing his blonde hair everywhere and his hands curled into fists, one of those fists very presently connecting with his face. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" The pale-haired boy said. Gaara got back to his feet, feeling the wind blow his hair in front of his eyes in the most obstructive manner possible. He really needed to trim it. "What do you mean?" He asked, taking in the smears of black on Naruto's body. Not at all like Gaara's completely black one.

"Why did you come into my apartment, take my phone, and then drag me off?!" The blonde shouted. Gaara didn't feel in the least bit guilty and almost opted to tell the blond so. But that would be the most ridiculous thing to do, certainly not the wisest course of action. He tested the words in his head, _because I want to bite you_. Yeah, that would be dumb. He struggled for something to win the blonde over, or at the very least an explanation. "Because you're a witness to me leaving and…and because…" Gaara struggled for words here.

Gaara was not one to at a loss for words. Naruto's expectant angry face didn't help. He dug up something sentimental that might work to his advantage. "And because you're my friend." He finished, satisfied with the end for his reply. Naruto's face softened, but he still wasn't all happy and wide grins. Gaara felt the bruise from Naruto's punch form, fade, and leave him with a heightened sense of the Hunger stirring. It didn't matter. He had the subject of his obsessions, and sank to a sitting position against the metal. Naruto looked over the side, and sank down across from him. Gaara was glad that Naruto wasn't stupid enough to jump off a moving rain, and he tilted his head back, watching the stars, like the sun exploded into billions of bits for the night sky to wear.

Naruto was silent, and Gaara watched the boy's dejected face, a sharp pang of sympathy in his chest. He let out a small, barely audible sigh. The night was still very long, his internal clock telling him that it was only about half past eight. The train chugged on, the quiet clinking of the wheels going over the tracks apparently a lullaby for the blonde in front of him who had fallen asleep. Gaara looked out over the top of the bin, watching buildings and trees slip by as the train pulled through the darkness. Turning back to the sleeping blonde, Gaara thought of his first meeting with the hyper blonde and was sure then that he could use a little bit of sun in his existence.

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Naruto was woken very rudely at some point. He felt groggy, tired, and overall stiff. "What?" He asked hoarsely to the blurry face in front of him. Gaara. Oh, man, it all was coming back now. "I said we have to go. There's a city coming up. I have to avoid it and go west, then north." He was saying. Naruto didn't get a chance to reply as he was hoisted over the red-head's shoulders again, and soon was colliding with wet cold grass. He could barely see. It was so dark, and the grass of the hill he was no rolling down was a very dark blur. He sat up as he reached the bottom, seeing the vampire doing the same thing he had done, rolling neatly to his feet at the end of the hill. The dew soaked through Naruto's clothes, and he really wished he had never met the crimson headed vampire, no matter how bad he felt for him. The woods lay ahead, black with barely visible bits of dark green. Gaara was already walking towards them.

Naruto hurried to his feet, ignoring the twinges of pain in his shoulders. "Hey, wait up!" He called after the slim figure at the trees edge. The pale vampire's eyes were dark emerald as he looked back at Naruto. "I had every intention of doing so." He said smoothly. Naruto muttered to himself as he jogged over to catch up. Gaara didn't look behind him again as he slid through the trees, irritating Naruto even more whenever Naruto tripped on something and the vampire would merely stand there, completely motionless, while waiting for Naruto to regain himself. Naruto was just flat out furious by the time they reached a field and Gaara stopped in the middle. "I'm sleeping here." He said, going to the edge and shimmying up the trunk of one of the massive oaks. Naruto looked at the pink tingeing the sky and looked in the thick branches Gaara had disappeared in. "Well, what am I supposed to do?" he yelled. "Try to sleep." Came the silky, sleep-heavy reply, and Naruto sighed. Right, try to sleep.

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Gaara woke as the sun slipped below the horizon, his internal clock announcing it was time to get up. He really hated summer. The days were far too long. Gaara sighed, swinging up to sit on the branch that bounced slightly beneath him. He had slept on his knees, as the branches hidden from the sun weren't wide enough to sleep on. Sliding nimbly from the oak, he looked around the field. Naruto was laying on the edge, shirtless, using his shirt as a pillow. Gaara glided over to the blonde, crouching in front of him and lightly tracing the muscles on the blondes back, before leaning down and sliding his fangs into the boy's neck. The boy twitched, but the anesthetic in his bite quickly subdued the blonde. The difficult past week had left him hungrier than usual sooner. He had to be careful. As his traveling partner, he could feed off him every night without him knowing, but he also had to keep his livestock fed, watered, and unknowing. This means, he thought a little sadly as he pulled away and licked the boys wound, that I'll have to restrict my feeding. The two round puncture holes were gone now, and the boy would be hungry.

Gaara took a sniff of the air around him, greeted with the scents of the ecosystem that lived here. Rabbits, most obviously, as well as foxes, squirrels, birds galore, and a deer or two inhabited this area. Rabbits were fast, but he was Vampire, of course he could outrun and break the neck of a rabbit. Deer were slower and easier, but they had to travel light. Gaara didn't want the boy to be tempted with dragging food along. He would deal with each obstacle as they came. If Naruto never knew that there were deer here, all the better for this trip, even if Gaara wasn't sure where he was heading just yet. The woods couldn't go on forever, he knew logically, but humans were slow and easily exhausted. It would take perhaps a week or less. The boy wasn't stirring yet, so Gaara set off through the woods. Animals were quiet, he granted, but he was completely silent. It wasn't even difficult to snap the lithe rabbit's neck, carrying it back to the clearing that had been dubbed camp for the daytime before.

Naruto was already up, looking groggy. "What's that?" He asked squinting at the limp figure Gaara was holding by its back legs. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the blonde fool. "You're dinner." He said, throwing the furry body at Naruto. Naruto jumped back, and then pulled the rabbit to his chest, as though there was chance he could save the already dead creature, his face horrified. "You killed a fluffy bunny?" He asked in the most childish voice Gaara had ever heard. Gaara went forward, smoothly taking the rabbit from Naruto. "Start a fire." He said, and to his almost wince worthy humiliation, he used his fangs as a knife and skinned, gutted, and bled the rabbit himself. Naruto was watching him cautiously, the small tinder for a fire in front of him and two small rocks. "Don't you know how to start a fire?" Gaara asked. This boy was proving tedious. Gaara comforted himself with the idea of drinking from the blonde later on.

Naruto shook his head. "I've only seen it done on TV." He said sheepishly, and Gaara growled, sitting across from the boy cross-legged and taking the two stones. He noted with some satisfaction he must look like hell. He was still covered all over with charcoal smears and his clothes seemed to be significantly torn and rumpled. Normally, all of the above would bother him and he would have showered and changed already, but it was a little nice to be more wild and feral. He grabbed the stones, rubbing them together with no holds on speed. The rocks grew hot in his hands, and he dropped them with a hiss. Vampires could be permanently eradicated with fire, and he had decided a century ago that avoiding fire at all costs was a lot safer than risking being killed in a far more lasting way. He hated how Naruto took note of his reaction to the red rocks that sent the brushwood into flames.

Gaara grabbed the rabbit, dropping it onto Naruto's lap. "Eat it." He hissed. Naruto meekly grabbed a stick, and Gaara watched the boy wince as he shove the piece of wood through the rabbit's body and hold it over the fire. Gaara's day had only just begun, and he was restless. The sky overhead was cool and dark, a perfect night to be doing something. Gaara slid into the shadows, sitting against the trunk of a tree. It was disconcerting, the way Naruto's gaze flicked from him to the rabbit. Gaara didn't like it; it was just weird. It was one thing to watch the boy and have full intentions of taking him as dinner later; it was another for Naruto to watch him with that confusion. Gaara didn't want to dwell on it.

The blonde was full of surprises and little quirks that only made Gaara more comfortable with him. He stayed motionless as Naruto pulled the rabbit from the fire, gnawing on the meat. It was one of the few things that vampires had with humans, besides the fact vampires were once humans obviously, was that they were hunters, only for different things. Only human blood could sate the Hunger, placing vampires' above humans on the food chain. It didn't change that Naruto would be only food in the end.

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The rabbit was difficult to eat, but had a smoky wild flavor. It was hard for Naruto because only about two hours ago, it had been breathing and covered in fur. Gaara was sitting, obscured by shadow, and Naruto could only just barely make him out against the dark shadows. He was strangely groggy and tired and felt like someone had slugged him. On the contrary, Gaara looked less pale, a lot less pale. Naruto hadn't even swallowed the last chunk of meat when Gaara stood. "All right, let's go." He said brusquely and Naruto looked at the fire. "Shouldn't we put that out?" he asked the older male. Naruto watched something flicker in Gaara's eyes, something crossed between disgust and fear. "Yes, put it out." He said coldly. Naruto frowned. "How?" He asked. Gaara growled a wild predatory sound low in his throat and kicked a clump of grass and dirt. It hit the fire squarely and sizzled, glowed, then went out.

Naruto figured that vampires, while semi-immune to small doses of garlic garlic, were not immune to being burned alive and killed again. It would explain Gaara's reaction, but he didn't dare say it aloud. Naruto followed Gaara as the vampire walked soundlessly into the woods. Walking in the dark with Gaara was not a pleasant experience; while he was sure to trip or step on a stick or end up making some noise, Gaara was completely soundless. It infuriated Naruto in the oddest way that he couldn't explain. As they passed into another field, Naruto could very well see the way Gaara looked back at him, the catlike attributes of his eyes, and the sudden absence of his presence. Naruto blinked, confused, and then turned to look where a rustling was. His red-headed partner was on the ground, hissing at a dark haired man on top of him. "You?" The onyx eyed man asked. He sounded amused and a self-confident smirk graced his handsome features. "You." Gaara said, much more soundly in Naruto's opinion. "You were just a timid little fucker when I last saw you." The raven haired man said with a chuckle.

It was then Naruto realized this was another vampire, and most likely the one that went off the radar. "You were just a clingy little bastard when I last saw you." Gaara hissed back. Naruto was suddenly nervous, and he wasn't sure why. It was only another vampire, right? Except that was exactly what it was, another vampire. The black haired vampire turned so fast Naruto wasn't even sure he caught the movement. Gaara was either really slow or really considerate. "Well, well, well. Look who brought a little tidbit with them." he said, getting off of Gaara's chest. Naruto took a step backwards, but in that same flash of movement, Gaara was in front of him. He had never considered the red head the guardian angel type, but now, he was really grateful for his presence. "Fuck off, Sasuke. He's mine." Gaara snarled. That self-confident smirk never faltered. "You're really asking for it, aren't you?" 'Sasuke' asked, chuckling.

Naruto felt like he might piss his pants. The smooth graceful flashes of movement were there again as a hissing snarling battle erupted between the two. To Naruto's eyes, it was like watching dragons, moving quickly and smoothly, but with the savage intent on killing each other.

A smirking Sasuke now sat on Gaara's arms and legs, and Naruto saw the wince worthy act of the raven haired vampire's knees digging into the crook of Gaara's arms. "I picked up some new tricks." Sasuke murmured, and Naruto backed away, a sudden fear sparking. The pale hands of the vampire reached into his back pocket, and Naruto felt his eyes widen and saw Gaara's eyes do the same thing when Sasuke pulled out a short sharp stake, made of smooth polished oak and engraved with spirals. "You…you wouldn't." Gaara said. Naruto knew from the red head's tone he did not doubt that the vampire above him, indeed, would. Naruto was rooted to the spot, torn between going to help and running as far as he could. "Of course I wouldn't, but your father shielded you, didn't he? And you learned a great many tricks to keep from feeling the stake. Oh yes, it's helped you live, but you should know the pain, worse than the Hunger, the pain from when the stake…misses." Sasuke said in a low whisper, and Naruto opened his mouth. "Don-" He started, and at that same moment the raven haired vampire drove the stake into Gaara's stomach.

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All Gaara was aware of at that moment was the pain, searing, white-hot pain that seemed to devour him whole. He knew he screamed and he saw the look of terror that kept Naruto half way from telling Sasuke away, but none of those things mattered because it hurt so, so bad. His scream ended in a strangled groan. It hurt. How it hurt. Sasuke was above him, pinning him, smirking in triumph. "Do you feel it?" He whispered, and twisted the stake. Gaara wasn't aware when the pain had settled to a throb, but the twisting action sent him jerking, screaming again. He wasn't concerned about humiliation or embarrassment. He just wanted the pain to end. Blood, the blood he had stolen. It was spilling everywhere. It hurt so badly. The stake was short; he couldn't see where it was. It was in him, somewhere, but the Hunger was rearing too, demanding to be fed after this draining. He couldn't move. The weight from his arms and legs was gone, but the pain held him.

He heard Naruto's gasp, but that was it. He wasn't going to die, no, as he was already dead and he wasn't going to stop existing, but it would be preferable. The pain, everywhere, hurts, pain, footsteps. He didn't dare move his head, for fear of sparking more of this dreaded pain. Pain was not something he was used to. Pain had been a rumor, or twinges of discomfort. Pain was real now. A face in front of him: Blue eyes, blonde hair. It was all blurry, as though he was underwater. But that wasn't right, because his vision underwater was crystal clear. "I'm going to take the stake out." The words, Gaara supposed, must have been clear. But right now, it was weird, distorted, as though coming through a long hallway filled with hollow items. He was going to what? And then the pain was sharply there again, and he was curling, screaming. It hurt, so bad, so bad. He shuddered as his drained and tired body tried to repair itself. Pain, everywhere, it was all he knew, all he felt like he had ever known. "Aaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhh!" He moaned, rolling on his side. The pain was lessening; getting better, then The Hunger.

He shook as hands grabbed him. The Hunger; He was tired. The sun; this was worse. He was limp, spent, exhausted, and could not protest the wobbly blue eyes. Did eyes have hands? Confusion, tired, weak, vulnerable, need shelter. Gaara's thoughts swirled in this manner. The wobbly blue eyes had a sun, a small sun that didn't burn. This sun was good, but warm. Not hot. Not burning. Blood. Blood was good. Blood was hot. The coppery taste ran along Gaara's tongue, down his throat. Blood was good. Blood was good. Blood was…good.

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Naruto watched the half curled, blood covered slim form of the vampire. The vampire he had fed, and who had fed and defended him. It was bewildering to think that those six months ago he had been living an unremarkable life. The sun was high in the sky, and Naruto was tired. He had been up all night, and even though he was hungry, he couldn't do anything right now, could he? Sleeping was the best idea, finding water for his parched throat later. He sank down, half in and half out of the sun next to Gaara. He was tired, and the contrasting cold and heat was pleasant for his exhausted body, still unused to sleeping during the day and being up at night.

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When Naruto woke up, he was aware half of his body stung. With a groan, he sat up. He was half sunburnt and half freezing cold. The stars were high overhead and he was all alone. Worry came first, and then anger boiled in him. The ungrateful blood sucker had ditched him in the middle of unfamiliar woods! He growled, standing, and then winced. He was lobster red. He sighed in aggravation and sat up as slowly as he could. He couldn't worry about being alone. He needed food and water. That was his first concern. As he stood, there was a smooth cold voice. "You're burns are pretty bad. I, uh, found something." Naruto turned his head just barely to see the vampire at the edge of the woods. He must have washed, because the blood was gone from his clothes and he was pale again. For Naruto, it only seemed to make the hole in his shirt and the smooth expanse of skin there glaringly obvious.

He was holding something oozing, and Naruto had to squint hard to tell what it was. It was some sort of plant, and beneath it was wood, and that wood held a chunk of hive dripping with honey. "Thanks." Naruto croaked. He was really thirsty, and he saw Gaara pick up on it, his head tilting slightly to the side. "There's a river. I'll carry you, and you can drink and wash, then I'll tend to your wounds." Naruto frowned slightly. The faint note of emotion he didn't recognize confused him. But he didn't to say anything, smiling wearily. Gaara's arms enveloped him, scooping him up like an infant. Naruto blushed and wasn't sure whether to struggle or melt into the comfort of that hold. He closed his eyes, as the soft movement told him that Gaara was moving. Resting his head on the red head's shoulder, everything seemed okay-until he was dunked in icy water. "What the fuck?!" He shouted as he resurfaced. Gaara was sliding into the water, still wearing his damp clothes. "What…?" Naruto started, but he really wasn't sure why he was bothered. Gaara looked at him, and slid beneath the water. Naruto counted to ten before swimming under the water. It was dark, and somewhat deep towards the center. The pale form sliding through the water was easy to identify, especially when he slid under the moonlight and he seemed to glow silvery.

Naruto would've blushed if he wasn't in the icy water and swam to the surface, gasping for air. Gaara's head bobbed up in front of him, the gentle water currents ghosting over the blonde's legs. "Are you ready to get out?" Gaara asked in that same expressionless tone. Naruto shook his head no, heart thumping a little more loudly as Gaara's gaze rested on his throat before he disappeared beneath the water again. Naruto gulped down the river water; it's cold clear taste really refreshing after the day without any liquid whatsoever. Hurrying to shore, he cursed softly at his water heavy clothes and shoes. He pulled them off, grimacing as he wrung out the massive amounts of water. What did he absorb, the whole river?

A faint ripple of water out of the corner of his eye was the only sign that Gaara had exited the river. He was, however, wearing pants, just pants. Naruto swallowed and looked at the face of the vampire, away from the angle of his hips as they disappeared downwards and the smoothness of his muscles, defined subtly on a slender chest. Naruto swallowed hard, but there was something there, someone in front of him. Smoldering aqua eyes stared at him. Gaara was right in front of him, and Naruto wanted to move away. This would probably end up being really hard since Gaara's arms were on either side of his head, watching him with a hawk like expression, his eyes slightly narrowed. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked, but he received no answer.

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Gaara resisted the urge to taste the boys pulse, though he could smell the warm blood and hear the pounding of his heart clearly. The Hunger stirred, but it was quiet and not really urgent. He could dispose of it temporarily, if he chose. He didn't care though. Naruto was warm, the sun Gaara could never walk under for long. Naruto gasped and he realized he had pinned the blonde boy to a tree, his fangs out as he stared at that smooth neck.

That didn't matter though. He placed a careful finger on the boy's pulse, feeling the rapid sign of life. The skin under Gaara's fingers was deliciously hot, speckled everywhere with drops and rivulets of the cool water from Naruto's swim. The slight tan suggested that Naruto went to the beach from time to time or spent a significant amount of time under the sun. It didn't matter. Gaara pulled away and looked at the wide blue eyes, so blue and then returning his attention to that throat. The wild pulsing of that heart that pushed blood through…it was tempting, for sure, but Gaara wasn't feeding tonight.

And then he pulled away. No matter how tempting the blonde was, this was just a bath. They had to cover more ground. "Let's go." He commanded quietly, leaving the tattered remains of his shirt on the riverbed. He watched Naruto sag and listened as his heartbeat calmed down significantly.

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Naruto wasn't sure if he was losing it or if what had happened had really happened. Naruto trudged after the unrelenting vampire anyway. He was famished, and Gaara led him back to their camp. "Sit down." The red head ordered, and Naruto frowned, sinking to the ground. Soft cool hands rubbed something gooey over his back, under his shirt. Naruto bit back another of those stupid recurring shivers of fear as the hands agilely pressed the soothing liquid into his lobster red back. "We have to keep moving. Don't sleep in the sun, and I'll find some food for you." Gaara said quietly. Naruto chewed his bottom lip as the hands pulled away. "Got it." He ground out as he stood and followed the tuft of red into the woods. Another long, uneventful night passed. Walking through the woods in pitch darkness was not on Naruto's favorite thing to do list.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Naruto asked irritably on night number three. Gaara's sudden apparent disinterest was making him moody. "Of course not, but the woods don't last forever." Gaara said off handedly. Naruto rolled his eyes and immediately regretted it as he tripped over a vine. The ground came rushing up, and then it stopped, a firm hand on his shoulder. Naruto felt the heat start making its way to his face. Don't you dare! He thought fervently as he righted himself. The practically glowing catlike eyes of the vampire who had caught him now caught his gaze. "Thanks." Naruto said. In response he got a shrug. It was a long night by his standards as he had to do a lot of uphill climbing. The area was getting slippery with loose pebbles and was getting harder for Naruto to traverse.

Naruto glared half-heartedly at Gaara, who seemed both oblivious to Naruto's struggles and having no difficulties whatsoever. "Oh…" Naruto looked up sharply from the soft sound the vampire let out. He scrambled up the rest of the slope to find they were on a cliff, looking over a giant barren desert with a speck on the horizon he assumed was either a city or an oasis. "What is it?" Naruto asked. "I was born there." Gaara said, raising one arm to point with a slender finger at the speck. "That's where we're going. It's separated from most civilization, and it's made up mostly of vampires, their human companions, and free humans." The red head said quietly. Naruto had to bite his tongue from screaming that the Gaara was crazy if he thought that he was going to go with him. He didn't really have a choice, did he? How would he feed himself? But looking at the vast dryness, he had one question. "What am I supposed to drink?" He asked.

Gaara simply shrugged. "I'll procure some liquid for you at some point." He said noncommittally. Naruto frowned, looking at the seemingly endless waves of sand. The sky was growing a lighter shade as the sun began to peek over the horizon, and Naruto could visibly see the red head sagging with exhaustion. "Get some rest; we have a lot of land to cover." Gaara said as he slunk into the trees. Not quickly forgetting his sunburns, Naruto hurried after him, and was distracted by the sound of running water. He followed it, to look down a waterfall on the cliff, ending in an oasis at the bottom, the beginning of the desert. Naruto knelt at the water's edge, drinking eagerly. He might not be drinking for a long time, and he had seen to many movies where the hero was hallucinating under the deserts heat and from lack of water. He had also been lectured to death by Sakura on how people went crazy from dehydration, which began after three days of ingesting no fluids. So he drank and slid under the trees, giving the sun one last longing look before he curled up and went to sleep.

Gaara woke him up before the sun was even completely out of the sky, said sky just beginning to be dotted with stars. "Get one last drink, and take this, for your eyes and this, for your stomach." He said and Naruto sat up groggily, the tattered remains of Gaara's shirt and what looked suspiciously like what might have been a bird shove in his face. He ate, struggled with how to make use of the shirt, and drank a bunch of water before he went to Gaara, who was standing on the cliffs edge. "How are we getting down?" He asked. "We're climbing. It should not be difficult, just be aware that scorpions, spiders, and bats make their home in the rocks edge, though they should all be up by now." Replied Gaara with a half wistful look on his face. All Naruto could think was he was going to be bit by a giant poisonous spider and die at the edge of a desert with only a vampire to hear his last words. Gaara slid down the rock, using the crevices and dips as hand and footholds. Naruto sighed, awkwardly going over and starting slowly down. He wasn't sure how far down he was, but he did know that he heard Gaara. "Jump." Came from below, muffled by distance. "Are you crazy?!" Naruto asked, not daring to look down. "Let go of the cliff. I'll catch you." Naruto knew this game; it was one he had played with Hinata several times.

He sighed, looking down at the smallish figure standing with open arms at the bottom and let down. He felt his stomach fly to his throat and the rough cliff face grazing his fingers, but then the descent was over, and he was wrapped in the arms of the vampire who had totally wrecked his life. He was set down gently, and Naruto stumbled a little. "We don't have time for this. Let's get moving. There's nowhere for you to shelter in the sun." Gaara said briskly. Naruto looked at the already moving red head briskly. "What about you?" Naruto asked as he began to walk. "It's in my genes. I can bury myself." Gaara said airily. Naruto resisted the urge to say _your tampered genes_. What kind of person were you before you were changed? It was a walk made unbearable by the never changing scene. Sand, sand, and more sand was everywhere, and the city Gaara had vaguely described never seemed to get any closer. Naruto wanted to pass out when the sun started slipping over the horizon, a slow enemy. "Cover your skin as much as possible." Gaara said, and slid under the ground with ease Naruto currently envied.

It was hard to sleep, because in complete opposition to how cool it had been at night, it was blazing hot during the day. He was actually grateful when the sun sank and Gaara appeared out of the ground. He looked a little sympathetic when he saw Naruto, but it was hard to tell with vampires. "Let me carry you, so you can sleep." Gaara said soothingly. Naruto didn't object to the piggyback ride he was offered, and the smooth never changing rocking of Gaara's gait soon lulled him to sleep. When Naruto woke up he felt groggy, confused, and not a little uncomfortable. There was some sand in his eyes, and his head was resting on Gaara's shoulder. "You're finally up." It was a statement, not a question. "Where are we?" He asked hoarsely. "In front of the city; you chose a good time to wake up." Naruto made an effort to look up, and was greeted with a massive thick wall with the doors partially open and sand piled up around it. "The vampire city of Suna." Gaara said quietly, and Naruto only gaped. "Where is everyone?" He asked.

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Gaara didn't have an answer for the blonde and chose silence as he walked in. Where is everyone indeed? He thought grimly. He hadn't completely excluded the thought that they had probably been hunted, but a glimmer of childish hope had stubbornly sat in his chest, and was viciously smashed. Gaara looked around cautiously as he walked in, and the familiar dusty streets and houses brought a bittersweet surge of familiarity in his chest. He shifted Naruto's weight on his back and kept walking. With Naruto asleep, he had been able to move very quickly, a perk of being a vampire. Had he not brought Naruto, he probably would have gotten here days ago, but he didn't regret bringing the blonde. The hot breath of Naruto's sigh drifted lazily over his ear, sending a bolt of electricity coursing through his body. An image of his last companion surged up, but he shoved it down angrily. She was gone, killed. Naruto was more than capable as a companion, and he had sealed it with the bite.

Gaara had no doubt that Naruto would be upset when he saw the two round scars on his neck in a mirror, but there were more pressing matters. He whirled around as a familiar sandy blonde dropped down. "Gaara." She stated, gaping as much as any self-respecting vampire would gape. He let an inkling of a smile curl his lips. "Temari, what a surprise. You escaped?" He asked with pleasure to his see his older sister not burnt at a stake. She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I did, dimwit. What did you expect?" She asked, and though Naruto so obviously missed her humor, he caught the teasing note. "One doesn't often expect miracles, Temari." He shot back, centimeters away from grinning widely. "Is that a new companion? I thought you'd never get over Ko." She said. A sharp pain bit at his chest. _Neither did I._ He though morosely, and the hint at a smile faded. Temari caught the sign and added quickly, "What brings you back home? There are not much of us left from an attack. Do you want to come where we're living now?" Naruto shifted uneasily on Gaara's back, but he merely tightened his grip on the blonde's legs and nodded.

"Is Kankuro still with us?" He asked as Temari led him into a home and stomped on the floor. Temari grimaced, and Gaara felt a brief wave of dread, until he saw the passage she was opening was merely giving her trouble. "Yeah, but he's not much brighter. You'll be a smug little bastard to hear that we have companions and who they are. Gaara smirked, already pretty smug if he was honest with himself. "Kiba is yours and Ino is Kankuro's, are they not?" He asked easily. He followed Temari down the dark stairway and felt Naruto tense. Gaara felt pity for the young blonde's poor human vision, but that did not in the least stop him from following his sister down into the new vampire city. Besides, as his companion his vision would progressively grow better, as well as his smell and hearing.

It was deathly quiet, and Gaara knew that they would probably be settling down for bed, even if the torches on the damp and cool walls were lit. "You must be tired." Temari commented. Gaara smirked. "Very. I haven't properly slept in over a week." He said as he let Naruto down. Temari smiled at him, a thing Gaara had missed. The vampires he met weren't big on smiling the way she was. "I'll show you and your companion to a room. He is housetrained, right?" She asked. "I'm not a dog!" Naruto added sourly.

Gaara shot Naruto a sharp look. "Being housetrained means being accustomed to a nocturnal schedule." He explained tersely, and nodded at Temari. "Of course he is, Temari. If it wouldn't be a trouble, could we be lodged separately?" He asked. Naruto grumbled softly, but Gaara pointedly ignored it. The idea of a sound proof coffin and a long day of rest were very appealing. "Do either of you want to eat?" Temari asked, giving Naruto a sly smile. "No." "Yes." Gaara and Naruto said simultaneously. Gaara shrugged. He had been feeding on Naruto, but he could imagine the blonde's reaction. "I'd, er, like to eat something please." Naruto said, flushing red and giving his sister a crooked smile. Temari laughed, and Gaara picked up the glamour she was putting off and gave her a warning look. With a sheepish smile, Temari set off down the hall. "You can sleep here," She said, opening a door to reveal a large room with a simple black coffin in the center and a dresser off to the side. Other than that the room was bare, but Gaara couldn't care less. Here was a bed and clean clothes. "And I'll take Naruto to eat and put him to bed." Temari said, leaving. The room was encased in a thick darkness, and Gaara sighed in relief as he walked over to the coffin, lying and beckoning him onto its red silk cushions. He sank into it, closing the lid and let the darkness close over his mind, a smooth black blanket.

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Naruto was, in a word; content, in two words, extremely pleased, in three words, a happy camper. So on and so forth. He had eaten a real meal, with vegetables and everything, and when he went to bed the night before, it had been among real humans, some only a little older than him, some well over fifty and looking twenty, and then in the morning, eating a breakfast among humans. "…so then we came across the really neat ecosystem, with all these itty-bitty lizards and bugs and grasses. I have a pet lizard right now, because Itachi let me. He can be so sweet!" One girl, Seishun was telling him as he ate the pancakes with strawberries before him. Naruto nodded, and a moment later an obviously vampire man with brown hair talking to Gaara walked in. "You're such a prick! I thought older brothers guided their younger brothers." The older man said. Naruto watched, chewing absently as Gaara smirked and said something softly in reply. "You are such an asshole! I am not. Do you want to meet Ino or not?" He grumbled. Naruto smiled, and fantasized for a moment what Gaara might have said. "Naruto, come on." Naruto crashed back to earth and frowned at Gaara. What the fuck? He thought in annoyance as he stood and went over to the redhead. "What?" He snapped. The brown haired man had a petite blond with him, and it clicked with Naruto. "You're Sakura's cousin!" He exclaimed, a wide smiling bursting as he recognized the woman. Ino rolled her eyes. "No duh, genius." She muttered, standing at the brown haired man's shoulder. "Naruto, I have a few things to tell you. One, unless you'd like to become a walking blood bag for the vampires here, you will tell any vampire who speaks to you that you are my companion. Two, this is my brother Kankuro-""Older brother!" Said brother piped in. "Older brother Kankuro, and thirdly, you must stay in my vicinity at all times." The vampire explained casually.

Naruto fumed, calmed down, and fumed again. "What exactly does pretending to be your companion entail?" He asked. Next to him, Kankuro laughed and Naruto shoved down his indignity. Gaara simply shrugged, introducing himself to Ino, kissing the top of her hand in a creepy old-fashioned manner and leaving the room. Naruto fumed and followed him, the 'stay in my vicinity' command not yet faded from his mind. He wasn't anyone's 'pet'! "So where are you going?" Naruto asked as Gaara strode down the long twisting hallways. "I have to find my sister, say hello to some old friends, and file a complaint on a certain vampire's brother." Gaara replied easily. He turned sharply and the hall opened into a room that had the air of a ballroom, and roughly the same size.

A man with long black hair immediately came up to them. "Gaara; you look like you've grown a little since I last saw you. Is this a new companion?" He asked in a slow smooth drawl. Naruto took a step back and glared defiantly. A glance at Gaara showed he was just glaring. "I think you lost something. Sasuke's gone rogue. He attacked me on my way here." He said. Naruto swallowed hard, the thought of that smooth predator, Sasuke, flooding his mind. Naruto looked around when Itachi began speaking, only half picking up the words as he examined the vampires in the room. "Hey! There you are! Guess who's here?" Naruto looked away from the now silent vampires to see Temari running in. "Gaara, you will never ever never believe who Itachi turned." She said as she ran in, a brown haired dude with odd tattoos on his cheeks running behind her. After that, Naruto felt his jaw drop. Shino, quiet and solitary and hidden beneath his scarf walked in, taking in the room with barely a turn of the head. Naruto had a brief hope he wouldn't have to enter a six feet radius of the new vampire. When Temari started dragging Shino over, Naruto was sure that vampires could read minds and delighted in torturing you in every way possible.

/

"So how did you like the newbie?" Naruto looked up from where he was picking at his dinner to see the guy with the tattoos on his cheeks watching him. "Huh?" He asked. "How did you like the new vampire?" The guy asked. Naruto shrugged, trying to remember if he had heard this guy's name before. Gaara had mentioned it, Kiba. "I'll take that as a no then." Kiba said, turning to his own food. Naruto took a bite of his steak, shrugging again. It was strange and a little depressing to think that Shino had been keeping so many secrets, no matter how mysterious he may be. "Gaara must fuck you good." Naruto coughed, nearly choking on his food. "Excuse me?" He asked, still coughing. Did Kiba just say what he thought he said? Kiba frowned at him. "He hasn't done anything with you yet? I heard from Temari he had a companion that he fucked all the time once. On the table, on the wall, in the beds, on the floor-" "I get it." Naruto said quickly. "What are you saying?" Kiba gave him a funny look. "He feeds on you, right?" He asked. Naruto felt a flatter of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. But before he could reply, Gaara was in the room. "Come. _Now_." The red head ordered from the door. Naruto sighed, pushing away from the table. Fate must hate him, to be shoving him under the bus like this all the time.

Naruto followed reluctantly down the halls he had explored today, then down a hall he had been told he wasn't allowed to go, going through all sorts of curves and twists before Gaara opened a door, one of the many identical ones that lined the hall's walls. Inside was a bed. A king sized, red satin, banisters and everything colonial bed. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but then he was on the bed. He heard the door shut and the lock click, and then Gaara was pinning him to the bed. "What have you told them?" He asked his voice low and growling.

Naruto gaped up at the angry face of Gaara, the gleam of his fangs in the dark room. "What are you talking about?" He asked in a weak croak. "Do not talk to them about anything before you came here or things you did in my company, understand?" He hissed. Naruto nodded, mildly confused. "Good." Gaara said, then dove on his neck. Naruto screamed as the sharp fangs punctured his neck and then went limp as a warm and numbing feeling swept through him. The fangs retracted, and a wet warm object was running across his neck. "This is your room now." Gaara said silkily and then left, leaving Naruto staring in blank confusion at the ceiling.

/

The first sensation Naruto experienced when he woke up was being strangely elated. He tried not to think about that too much. Next, he felt the presence of a person in the room, completely silent, but Naruto wasn't surprised by that. After all, the man with him was dead. It was weird to think about for too long, but he remained motionless. "Do you want an aspirin?" Naruto yelped and jumped in surprise. Knowing that Gaara was there didn't stop his sudden words from being surprising. He sat up, freed of the blankets to see the eyes watching him expressionlessly. The bastard.

He never got to answer, because in the next moment the ceiling cracked, then a resounding boom echoed, and the rest crumbled in. He next saw Sakura, aiming the large gun she sported at Gaara. Behind her, her brigade and some others Naruto didn't recognize all stood, tensed and holding various firearms. "Naruto, are you hurt? Did he do anything else to you?" Sakura asked, giving the silently surrendering Gaara a glare with enough venom to kill small animals. "No, not really. Why?" Naruto said a little hoarsely, frowning at his best friend.

Sakura's gaze suddenly turned pitiful. "You haven't seen your neck have you?" She asked softly. Naruto's hand flew up, and then he felt it. Two small round lumps, side-by-side. "Oh my god…" He breathed as Sakura and her troops came in, gently helping the dazed Naruto up and restraining Gaara. Naruto just stared wide-eyed at the ground. "Naruto, look at me." The voice was familiar, but Naruto didn't want to look. He had been fed off by a vampire for - how long, exactly? One bite could not have left those sort of scars. When had it started? "Naruto!" Naruto looked up to the owner of the voice, Kakashi.

This was getting stranger and stranger. "Do you know what this means?" He asked with his voice uncharacteristically gentle. Naruto shook his head, more anxiety swelling. "Technically, even if you are separated from Gaara, he's marked you as his companion." There it was again, the companion thing. "What's a companion?" Naruto asked. Kakashi sighed. "Not a lot is known, but what we do know is that companions are humans chosen by vampires to be their companions. The humans don't die from natural causes, because of their connection, but they can be killed. In a sort of exchange, the vampire will usually feed off of the human and no one else and try to make them happy."

Naruto couldn't believe it. Not the words, that he could believe, but everything about how this concerned him. That couldn't be true. "It's a lot to take in, I know, but unless Gaara is staked or you're given a wound you can't recover from, you're going to be living a very long time." Kakashi said, back to his expressionless voice. "What's happening to the other vampires?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "We're trying to separate the vampires and companions. These are very old parings, so it's proving tricky, because they're so close. It'll all turn out okay." Kakashi answered with a shrug. Naruto nodded, remembering the many vampires in the building, most of whom he didn't know the name of.

A sudden wailing suddenly caught Naruto's attention. A little girl was being dragged to a van, hidden under the shade of an umbrella carried over her. "Who's that?" He asked, squinting at the girl's raven locks. It had been so long since he saw the sun…"That's a purebred child. This place is the treasure-trove we've been looking for. These vampires are going back to the NCV. Cooperative vampires are going to bite people, and the others will remain captive until an agreement is negotiated. First, we'll identify their leader." Kakashi explained casually as he started walking up the rubble to the open area. Naruto hurried after him.

Questions swirled in his mind. "Leader? Vampires have leaders?" He asked. Kakashi nodded. "They have a complex hierarchy, but only purebreds rule. There are royal lines, which as far as we know had been wiped out, which trace back to the first vampires." Kakashi said, opening the door to the backseat of a van for Naruto. Naruto climbed in, greeted by other members of the NCV. Being around humans again was great. Naruto sat back, buckled up, and proceeded to ask Kakashi: "So, what's been going on while I was gone?"

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Gaara kept his head down and eyes closed. They had been courteous enough to block the sun from him, but the jostling of the van made him dizzy, as well as being packed so tightly with other vampires and having a dosage of the tranquilizers they used to keep him calm. The actual result of these was his churning stomach, mild weariness, and pulsing headache. The vampires around him looked no different, and Gaara could have picked out familiar faces he had yet to re-acquaintance himself with, if the circumstances were different. A different feeling was pushing up, a deep sadness.

They had taken his companion. Looking up briefly and sorrowfully, he was met with a few other gazes that mirrored his, others who had had their companions taken. No matter how brief the bond was, it was strong and many of his comrades had had their companions close to them for a very long time. It hurt, and Gaara looked back down, shutting his eyes again. He felt the time tick by, first in seconds, then minutes, then hours. He did not want to converse with those around him and tried to calculate how long he was in the van. Eight hours to get back to Konoha. The special made cuffs had switched to a nighttime mode. He had seen these before, one that were matched to your DNA and strength and sedated you if you struggled against them. Gaara guessed nighttime mode hit someone with stronger drugs.

The van lurched to a stop, and the back opened. The vamps were dragged out, one by one with two members each, and Gaara the last to go. He numbly let himself be dragged out, jostled by the too-excited troops. He had seen troops this excited before, but death had followed their appearance and adrenaline, not this dizzy weariness. The air inside was charged with the same excitement mingling with the despair from the vampires. He was lead all over, down stairs, past a semi-familiar hallway, and down another set of doors to a large room containing cubicles on the walls meant exactly for storing vampires, each room small with a bed. All of the rooms were white, with a small black screen that could be slid down. The room was a swarm of activity, and sitting now in his cubicle, Gaara felt very…confined.

He wasn't claustrophobic, but he was used to wide open spaces and freedom of movement. Already, he could see where a gas could be dispersed, and as vampires didn't breathe, it was completely sealed. It was unnerving, but he would have to get used to it. On day one, he slept off the drugs later, on day two they started questioning. He listened with a sense of betrayal as they took the purebreds first, the obliging ones turning the newbies and giving advice on how to manage them. It made Gaara sick, to see the ones that were so obliging. Gaara lay flat on the cot, hands neatly resting on his abdomen. The tapping of glass disturbed him. Sitting up on his elbow, he looked at his roommate, who was fortunately Temari, separated by the glass.

On his right was a Bitten he had met named Kasai, but he wasn't important. "Guess what they asked Shino?" She mouthed. Gaara shrugged, irritated with her guessing game. He had been more irritable then usual lately, with a lack of sleep and an overdose of drugs. "If he knew if there was any remaining in the Royal Line." Gaara blinked, his eyes widening a fraction of a centimeter. "They're asking all of the bitten." Gaara sighed, feeling frustration well. Of course they wanted to know if there were any left. "Does anybody know?" He mouthed. Temari shook her head, and the lights went out as curfew hit.

Three weeks long weeks passed, with no visitors, lots of sedatives, and little nourishment. Finally, someone cracked. Of course, Gaara thought irritably, they didn't outright say who was left of the Royal Line or who had spilled what they knew, but they mentioned three purebred siblings were left from the last royal they had seen. Said traitor remained currently unnamed and Gaara hated it. He was sullen and ignored his sister's frantic tapping. Yes, he was as bored as she was, but that didn't matter. A few more pokes in the right place and they would know. And if they knew, this hellish nightmare of being surrounded by people would never ever end. Last week they had given him a blood bag, and Gaara didn't ask how they knew when the Hunger was rising.

As if on cue to his earlier thoughts the guards came, Kakashi Hatake among them. "Would you like to come with us?" He asked politely. Gaara curled his lip into a sneer. "Oh, of course, your majesty. I'd positively love to play doggy." He scoffed. "Oh, I truly believe some people would think the roles should be reversed." He hinted ominously. Gaara swallowed hard, sobered by that comment. Either way, he was given another dose of sedatives before led to a room containing Kankuro, Temari, a few more guards, and Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba, and Ino to his surprise.

With a huff, he sat down on one of the chairs at the interrogation table. "Well, what the hell is going on?" He asked. Kakashi stood in front of him, placing both hands flat on the table and leaning forward. "You should know. I'm sure you've heard about our inquiries. You and your siblings are the only three siblings that are purebreds and older than most vampires. Which one of you was going to inherit the throne?" He asked. Gaara felt his blood (Or rather, lack of) boil the more Kakashi pushed. "Fuck you." He said ad leaned back in the chair. Next he knew Naruto was at gunpoint.

"I think that wasn't the right answer. Who is it?" Gaara felt fear flutter in his chest, concern. No. He wouldn't. Gaara swallowed hard. "Temari is the oldest. I am the youngest. I was named the heir two months after my father's last death." He said slowly. Immediately, the gun left Naruto's head. "So you control these vampires." Kakashi stated. It was probably interpreted meant as a question with anyone else, but people usually didn't ask questions to things they already knew. Gaara nodded anyway. If he had ever been alive, his heart would have been racing, according to what he read, but it was as it always was: dead silent. After that, he was dismissed, but not back to his usual room.

He was sent upstairs to what seemed to be an apartment complex in the building. There, he was released from the cuffs and the door was shut. A bitter anger rose in him as he heard the door lock. He didn't doubt that Temari and Kankuro were in their own rooms, but this was horrible. There were screens showing the outside world, and no wood in the entire place. Yeah, he looked. There was a master bedroom, a living room, a very unnecessary bathroom with a shower/bathtub, and a kitchen. It was, all in all, boring. At least it was fairly large. Gaara had no doubt that Kakashi would threaten him into agreeing to something, but what happened the next morning was hardly what he expected.

A knock at the door woke him. Gaara groaned and sat up from the bed, wondering when he had fallen asleep. Either way, he walked out of the bedroom to be greeted by Kakashi in the living room. "Come along. We have faith you will not run, or otherwise you will be shot with tranquilizers." He said. Gaara scowled at the silver haired man, but followed him downstairs anyway. Outside of the building, the sky was streaked with pink, purple, blue, and black, signaling that the sun was setting. Voices rose, and Gaara looked in front of him to see reporters, cameras, and flashing lights. Not to mention the notebooks and mikes all shoved at him.

"Are you really the current leader for the vampires?"

"Are you a purebred?"

"Have you turned anybody?"

"Are you of the royal line?"

"Do you have a companion?"

"Do you have children?"

"Why have you kept hidden for so long?"

The questions came pouring, not letting up. His first instinct was to flash his fangs at them, but a hand came to rest on his shoulder. The knowing gaze of the Hatake rested on him. Gaara couldn't care less. It was too much. It was too many people, too much noise and too soon. It burned every nerve, the constant flashing burning his eyes as they struggled on dilating and contracting. Gaara flinched, back behind the guards, watching the many, many people gathered here. It was way too much. It was too much.

He heard Hatake talking, heard the constant flow of chatter, heard screaming civilians, though he didn't know if they were happy or terrified, and he didn't want to hear anymore. His ears were ringing. He was wrapped in a strong hold from behind. Twisting and baring his fangs at the person who had grabbed him, he saw Naruto. He wanted to curl up and die. Not really die, obviously, but cease to exist. He shoved Naruto hard and backed into the building, taking refuge on the waiting room's couch. Yes, he felt weak and pitiful about this.

But in his defense, he had not spoken to large groups of people in over three hundred years, when he was still very young and dealt with a lot of his father's overlooked matters. He had forgotten the noise and the crowds and the people. Or maybe he had overlooked it. It had been something he was used to, and it had worn off in time. He was worthless. He fumed inwardly over the Hunters that had driven him and his kind into hiding. "Wait until you see the pictures in the news. First you looked angry, and then you looked like a deer in headlights. It was positively priceless." Kakashi drawled. Gaara glanced up at him, fixing him with a glare.

All of this psychoanalyst and sarcasm from this man was getting on his nerves. "So what do you want?" He asked unenthusiastically. "I want you to get yourself under control and get out there, whether it is now, or tomorrow, or next week, tops." Kakashi dead-panned. The shamelessness of it all. 'Get yourself under control'? Really. Gaara ranted mentally. He swung off the couch. This silver haired annoyance and Naruto had seen too much of his vulnerable side for him to like. Glaring defiantly at Kakashi, he walked back outside into the throng. Hell to being manipulated. So what? It's not like they were going to kill him.

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His apartment was scary clean. Naruto looked around as he walked in. If anything had been broken, it was fixed now. It was unnerving, and Naruto wasn't sure what to make of it. The camera that had mobbed him as he called a taxi weren't unbearable, but he had seen the mixed look of terror and defensiveness when Gaara had been in front of him. He had work tomorrow. He didn't need this distraction.

With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts of a certain species to the back of his mind. He rummaged through his cabinets, finding his beloved cache of ramen and grabbing a packet. It was all over…so why did he get the suspicion that it was all just beginning?


End file.
